Tony Bennett Missing In DC

Plenty of stars shaping up for the various Inaugural activities, including Stevie Wonder, the aforementioned Sting, Aretha Franklin, Sam Moore, James Taylor, the Grateful Dead, Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, and more. Even Miley Cyrus is coming to Washington.

But where is Tony Bennett? A veteran Democratic fundraiser, America’s most beloved singer has not turned up on any lists so far. This is very odd since Bennett has a long history with civil rights activism. In the mid 1960s, he and Moore (then as Sam & Dave), along with Aretha, Mavis Staples, and Mahalia Jackson toured the South, marched and raised money for Dr. Martin Luther King.

But Bennett has not been asked to be part of HBO’s Sunday broadcast from the Lincoln Memorial produced by Don Mischer and George Stevens, Jr. He’s also not on the list for any of the Balls, official or otherwise. At the California or West Coast Ball, he could have wowed the crowd with “I Left My Heart In San Francisco.”

Someone involved in all this stuff had better get on the “Ball” — and fast!